KR100850522B1 - Electrical connector device and patch antenna including the device - Google Patents

Abstract

The connector device 30 has a main body with a lower surface covered with a conductive layer 35 to provide a ground plane and an upper surface 34 with a conductive strip portion 36 to form a microstrip line. It is provided in the form of (32). The combination of the first conductive surface region 35 (ground plane) and the second conductive surface region 36 (microstrip line) separated by the main body portion 32, which is a dielectric, forms a microstrip section. The conductive layer 35 and the strip portion 36 are each connected to a conductor of the coaxial feed cable 8. To establish an electrical connection between the conductive layers 12 and 16 of the antenna of the laminar structure, such as a planar inverted F antenna, between the conductive layers 12 and 16 of the antenna and the conductor of the feed cable, The device 30 is inserted.

Description

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR DEVICE AND PATCH ANTENNA INCLUDING THE DEVICE}

The present invention is directed to a connector device that provides an electrical connection between the electrically conductors of a cable and the electrically conductive spaced layers of a component (especially, but not limited to, patch antenna). It is about.

In general, mobile telecommunication devices, including mobile telephones and wireless receivers, have been provided with their own antennas to form self contained functional devices. In recent years, research in the field of wearable electronics has included attempts to combine and integrate electronic equipment, including telecommunication equipment with clothing items. Such integration can be advantageous in many ways, including improved ease of carrying electronic equipment, improved functionality, and the elimination of redundant components. An example where the last two advantages are realized would be the switching and automatic routing of audio from an audio playback device and a mobile phone through the same pair of earphones.

In some instances, the ability to distribute and integrate equipment into clothing allows for the adoption of new types of components that can result in improved performance. An example of a new component is WO-A, filed on Nov. 26, 1999, in the name of Koninclique Philips Electronics, Inc., under British Patent Application No. It is a laminar structure antenna, such as that described in -01/39326 published under the heading 'Improvement Fabric Antenna'. The antenna is primarily intended for use in mobile telecommunication applications, and includes first and second spaced layers of electrically conductive fabric, a layer of electrically insulating fabric between the first and second layers. First connection means for making electrical contact between the first and second layers, and second connection means for allowing the first and second layers to be connected to telecommunications equipment. The arrangement constitutes a so-called 'planar inverted F antenna' (PIFA).

The antenna is intended for incorporation into the shoulder portion of the garment or into the lapel of the garment in the form of a shoulder pad, although other positions may be considered. Generally, the fabric is used for the construction of the antenna rather than other materials as the fabric provides better comfort to the wearer through breathability and in terms of elasticity. The antenna can be connected to telecommunication equipment using coaxial cables, but the connection between the cable and the first and second spaced apart layers of electrically conductive fabric presents a problem. Where electrical connections are provided by soldering the coaxial cable's conductors to the electrically conductive fabric, such processing is labor intensive and time consuming, and the presence of heat is attentive to the soldering process to avoid heat from damaging the antenna. It must be done. This applies where the layer of electrically conductive fabric is based on a material that is particularly sensitive to heat, such as nylon. Another problem is that factories and workers in the garment manufacturing industry are generally skilled in garment manufacturing techniques, but not in the more conventional processes in the electronics industry, ie in such cases of soldering. Lack of skill and the absence of a factory with suitable equipment have the potential to result in low output, substantial training costs, and high product failure rates. For any design of the antenna, the precise location chosen to connect the conductors of the coaxial cable to a layer of electrically conductive fabric has a significant impact on the operating characteristics and thus on the performance of the antenna's operation, requiring accurate soldering for each antenna sample produced. do. Finally, the final connection made between the antenna and the cable conductor lacks the mechanical strength usually required in the field of wearable electronics.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for providing an electrical connection between the spaced layers of the electrical conductor of a component and the electrical conductor of the cable, which device seeks to overcome at least the above mentioned problems.

According to the present invention, an electrical connection between spaced layers of the first and second electrical conductors of a patch antenna has a layer of electrically insulating material between the electrical conductors of the cable and the layers of the first and second electrical conductors. In an electrical connector device to provide a connection:

A main body portion having at least two electrically conductive surface regions, each region electrically connected with a cable conductor connecting means suitable for establishing an electrical connection with an electrical conductor of the cable in the electrical connection; Including, where

The main body portion is at least partially interposed between the spaced apart layers of the first and second electrical conductors of the patch antenna, each of the electrically conductive surface regions of the main body portion being the first and second electrical portions. A connector device is provided, configured to provide electrical coupling with one of the conductive spaced layers.

Such electrical coupling may be provided by establishing physical and electrical contact between the electrically conductive surface area of the main body portion and the spaced apart layers of the electrical conductor of the antenna. However, such electrical coupling may be provided in another way, eg capacitive coupling, between the electrically conductive surface area of the main body portion and the spaced apart layers of the electrical conductor of the antenna. If a capacitive coupling is provided, this provision will be made in the presence of an insulator between the electrically conductive surface area of the main body portion and the spaced apart layers of the electrical conductor of the antenna.

Preferably, the main body portion comprises a lower surface and an upper surface, each having at least one of two electrically conductive surface regions, wherein the main body portion is spaced apart layers of the first and second electrical conductors of the patch antenna. When interposed therebetween, the electrically conductive surface region of the lower surface is electrically coupled to one of the first and second electrically conductive layers, and the electrically conductive surface region of the upper surface is Is electrically coupled to the other one of the first and second electrically conductive layers. Optionally, one of the top and bottom surfaces is generally entirely covered by one of the electrically conductive surface regions to form a ground plane, and the other of the top and bottom surfaces is lined to form a microstrip line. Partially covered by one of the electrically conductive surface regions arranged in the

The main body portion can be penetrated by a sewing needle, in which case the main body portion can be inserted between the spaced apart layers of the first and second electrical conductors of the patch antenna, where the first layer, the body portion And then a straight sewing is done to firmly join the items into a thread through the second layer. Sewing is one of the most prevalent techniques in the garment manufacturing industry, so the possibility of attaching the body to the conductor spaced layers in this manner is advantageous.

These and other aspects of the invention now appear in the appended claims, which are incorporated herein by reference and which may be read by the reader.

The invention will now be described with reference to the following drawing figures.

1 is a plan view of a patch antenna.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the I-I line of the patch antenna shown in FIG. 1, illustrating a conventional cable connection technique.

3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a connector device made in accordance with the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment taken along the III-III line of FIG.                 

5A and 5B show cross-sectional views of two techniques for attaching cable conductors to the device.

6 shows a first embodiment of the device with a patch antenna.

Fig. 7 shows a technique for attaching the connector of the first embodiment to a patch antenna.

8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a connector device made in accordance with the present invention.

9A-9F show variants of a connector device made in accordance with the present invention.

It should be noted that the figures are schematic and not drawn to scale. The relative size and proportion of the parts of the figures are shown to be reduced or exaggerated in size for clarity and convenience in the drawings. The same reference numerals are generally used to refer to similar or corresponding features in other embodiments.

1 and 2, the patch antenna 10, in this case a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA), comprises a lower layer 12 of a conducting fabric and at least one insulation mounted thereon. A layer of material 14 and a top layer 16 of conductive fabric positioned over the insulating material 14, the top layer being substantially rectangular in shape and generally smaller than the bottom layer 12 in the area. . The lower and upper layers are connected by neck portions 17 of the conductive fabric. The top layer 16 and neck portion 17 form an inverted 'L' section, which in this case faces the ground plane provided by the bottom layer 12 of the conductive fabric. PIFA is a low profile resonant element, shown in this case of size 'g', which is about one quarter of the wavelength, so this type of antenna is also referred to as a quarter wavelength patch antenna. The lower layer 12 is in electrical and physical contact with the base layer 13, which also forms the conductive fabric, and is a larger area compared to the upper layer 16. Actually due to fabric manufacturing techniques The lower layer 12 and the base layer 13 are shown as two possible components, but this is mentioned to avoid confusion and is not mandatory, from the functional point of view the lower layer 12 and the base layer 13. ) May be regarded as one component. One requirement is that the ground plane is whatever the shape of the ground plane layer, i.e., if the lower layer 12 is provided alone or in a combination of the lower layer 12 and the base layer 13; Has a larger area than the top layer 16. The components used in the antenna configuration may be held together by threads, glue or other suitable means.

The antenna 10 will usually be positioned in a garment such that the lower layer 12 (or the base layer 13 and the lower layer 12 bonded where provided) is closer to the wearer than the upper layer 16. will be. The lower layer 12 (or the base layer 13 and the lower layer 12 coupled to the provided portion) is connected to the ground plane of the antenna 10, the relative shape of the layer being substantially the upper plane of the ground plane. It extends beyond the radiating edge 16a of layer 16 to isolate the wearer from the strongest electromagnetic field radiated from the antenna. When the antenna is worn, the amount of signal absorbed by the wearer is reduced.

It will be appreciated that while the garment is worn, the antenna 10 may be flexed in use to suit the shape of the garment. Bendable performance seeks to the minimum any awareness that the wearer may have about the presence of the antenna and thus will not cause discomfort. The antenna thus maintains full operability while being comfortable while in use and able to bend.

1 and 2 show a known technique for connecting electronic equipment to an antenna using a coaxial cable. The coaxial cable feeds the antenna, the core conductor 18a is connected to the top layer 16 at point 20 by a solder joint, and the coaxial cable outer conductor 18b is also a point 22 at the solder joint. Is connected to the lower layer 12. If necessary, one or more layers of insulating material 14 are removed so that the cable 18 and the conductors 18a and 18b reach each of the points 20 and 22. The cable 18 is connected to an item such as mobile telecommunication equipment (not shown). As already explained, the use of a solder joint to form such a connection is not ideal.

One example of PIFA antenna 10 is 240 mm along size d and 130 mm along size e; The upper electrode 16 may have a size f of 80 mm and a size g of 72 mm. The distance h between the top layer 16 and the bottom layer 12 is typically 10 mm. Such an antenna has a center frequency of 925 MHz and a bandwidth of 3 kHz over 200 MHz; It may therefore be suitable for use as an antenna of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), forming a quarter wave patch resonator.                 

Suitable materials for providing layers of conductive fabrics are woven nylon plated with plated copper or silver or nickel layers; Materials known as "Shieldex" (trademark) are suitable. The fabric is electrolessly plated. For the insulating layer, materials typically used in the garment manufacturing industry are suitable, such as acrylic, horse hair, cotton, polyester, fleece and tailor's foam. Since the antenna is mounted on the garment and can be an important area, it is advantageous to be breathable and light. Such demands lead to the preference for insulating materials that are open cell foams.

As an alternative to using a folded layer of conductive material (ie, the folded portion forming the neck portion 17), the upper and lower layers 12, 16 can be shaped separately and drawn them with electrically conductive yarns. Electrical connections are established by sewing together, or by sewing together with a conductive adhesive or using a seam that places the conductive layers in a pressurized contact state.

The basic configuration of the patch antenna has been discussed and now the connector device of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The first embodiment 30 of the device comprises a main body portion 32 of dielectric material having a lower surface 33 and an upper surface 34. The lower surface is provided with a first conductive surface region 35, in this embodiment the first conductive surface region substantially covers the entire lower surface 33 to form a ground plane. The upper surface 34 is provided with a second conductive surface area 36, which is a line extending to provide a microstrip line from one end to the other end of the main body portion. . The combination of the first conductive surface region 35 (ground plane) and the second conductive surface region 36 (microstrip line) separated by the main body portion 32, which is a dielectric, forms a microstrip section.

The main body 32 may be formed of a dielectric material such as an FR4 glass fiber board, air filled PTFE, or a suitable plastic material. The first and second conductive surface regions may be other suitable conductive materials, including copper, aluminum, gold plated copper or nickel, or composites thereof. The conductive surface regions can be formed by any suitable method including deposition or etching techniques.

The selected size of the main body portion is determined by factors including the intended operating frequency, and the preferred size can be reached through techniques known to those skilled in the art, such as computer modeling behavior.

The connector 30 is also provided with a cable conductor connecting means transition section 38 and a cable clamp 39. Two examples of the transition section 38 of the cable conductor connecting means are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively. In each case the coaxial cable is trimmed to expose the inner and outer conductors, which extend longer. In the arrangement of FIG. 5A, two concentric holes are drilled into the dielectric 32 at one end of the center of the device, with smaller holes extending deeper. The prepared cable is inserted into the holes, with the middle conductor 8a extending into the deeper and smaller hole 52 and the outer conductor 8b extending into the hollow hole 51. In order to establish electrical contact between the microstrip line 36 and the conductor 8a, a pin 53 driven into an additional hole in the dielectric 32 is provided with the microstrip line 36. From to the inner conductor 8a resident in the hole 52. Plated through holes 54 are also provided in the dielectric 32, which extends between the outer conductor 8b of the coaxial cable and the ground plane 35. Soldering is applied to establish electrical contact between the outer conductor 8b and the ground plane 35.

In the arrangement of FIG. 5B, grooves 55 are machined into the top surface of dielectric 32 and at least partially receive the exposed outer conductor 8b in the grooves. A plated through hole 56 extends between the groove 55 and the ground plane 35 and establishes electrical contact between the outer conductor 8b and the ground plane 35 to establish the electrical conductor 8b. ) And the plated through hole 56 is soldered. Due to the fact that the groove partially receives the cable, the middle conductor 8a is generally aligned with the upper microstrip 36, in which case the middle conductor 8a is a short distance to the microstrip section 36. The conductor 8a and the microstrip section 36 are soldered together at the reference point 57.

In the arrangements shown in both FIGS. 5A and 5B, it is desired to keep the free space length of the conductor 8a as short as possible to minimize the inductance. In the arrangements shown on both sides, cable lamps can be employed to provide mechanical strength.

The exact size of the connection between the coaxial line and the microstrip section is chosen to minimize any electrical mismatch between the coaxial line and the microstrip section, and the preferred size can be obtained by computer simulation. How to accomplish this is well known to those skilled in the art, in particular microwave engineers.

In FIG. 6, the connector device 30 is inserted with at least a portion of the main body portion 32 between the lower conductive layer 12 and the upper conductive layer 16 of a fabric antenna of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Shown in situ. Once in that position, the first conductive surface area 35 of the lower surface of the main body portion 32 is in physical and electrical contact with the lower conductive layer 12 (ground plane) of the antenna. At the same time, the second conductive surface area 36 (microstrip line) of the upper surface 34 of the main body portion is in physical and electrical contact with the upper conductive layer 16 of the antenna. As can be seen, the spacing between the fabric patch antenna conducting layers is substantially equal to the size t of the device 30 in the vicinity of the device 30. The device is then threaded by sewing through the upper conductive layer 16, the main body portion 32 and the lower conductive layer 12 (and optionally also the base layer 13) of the device 30. threaded to the antenna). While stitching is omitted from FIG. 6, in FIG. 7 the stitch is shown as dashed line A, and the conductive layers 12 and 16 are pulled against the main body portion 32 to ground the microstrip section. This stitching contributes to establishing a good electrical contact between the face 35 and the antenna ground plane 12 and between the microstrip section microstrip line 36 and the antenna top conductive layer 16. If the main body portion 32 is of a material which is not penetrated by sewing (or no hole is provided therein for receiving the thread), the sewing is instead made through the upper and lower conductive layers 12 and 16. Although provided, it may be arranged around the perimeter of the main body portion 32 (dashed line 'B'). Such stitching causes the conductive layers 12 and 16 to be pulled together to trap the main body portion 32 therebetween, and also between the microstrip section ground plane 35 and the antenna ground plane 12. And a good electrical contact between the microstrip section microstrip line 36 and the antenna top conductive layer 16. When stitching is used, the dielectric body 32 of the main body portion is preferably sufficiently elastic to maintain most of its thickness.

As an alternative to sewing, it is possible to glue the upper and lower conductor layers 12, 16 and / or the main body part 32 to the upper and lower conductor layers 12, 16 together using a suitable adhesive. .

If the main body portion 32 is a flexible and / or resiliently deformable material, the main body portion 32 is the upper and lower conductor layers 12, 16. Smaller or larger thicknesses t may be provided, generally similarly to the spacing h between. However, in the case where the main body portion 32 is a hard non-deformable material, a thickness t less than the spacing h between the upper and lower conductor layers 12 and 16 is greater than the main body portion ( It may be desirable to provide 32). Such a combination is that when the device is attached to the antenna by sewing (or by another suitable method), the thickness of the antenna in the vicinity of the device 30 will generally be smaller, i.e. compressed, than the rest of the antenna. Imply. When the antenna is incorporated into the garment, this may be desirable as it reduces the likelihood of noticeable swelling or hard lumps due to the presence of the device 30.

In any case, while the device is once secured to the antenna, the antenna thickness near the connection of the device 30 is usually determined as the thickness t of the main body portion 32.

It is possible to make the microstrip section have a characteristic impedance equal to or similar to the characteristic impedance of the coaxial feed cable (typically 50 kΩ or 75 kΩ). If so, the range in which the device is inserted between the conductor layers of the antenna will have a minimal impact on the overall electrical performance of the antenna. Such an arrangement can be advantageously used to reduce the precision required to place the device in place with respect to the antenna prior to sewing the device, which is useful for the environment of the garment manufacturing industry.

Referring to FIG. 7, device 30 is inserted between upper and lower conductor layers 12, 16 on one side of the antenna and feeds on that side of the patch antenna. The advantage of this arrangement is that it is easy to manufacture and avoids taking the feed cable through the thickest part of the fabric. The position of the connection 20 along the edge of the upper conductor layer 16 (in direction g) is determined by the impedance of the feed line; As is well known, for lower impedance feed lines the connection should be near the connection between the upper and lower conductor layers 16, 12, while for higher impedance feed lines the connection should be further away from this connection. . While attaching device 30 to an antenna, it would be possible to use test equipment to set the best attachment location for each antenna sample where optimal antenna performance is critical.

Another alternative to attach the device 30 directly to the top and bottom layers is to attach to the antenna itself a micro strip, or strip line, or twin line, or tree-plate section extending from the top and bottom layers of the fabric antenna. The present invention can be connected to it.

Another variation of the device may be to replace a single microstrip 36 with dual microstrip sections 37a and 37b, each connected to the center conductor 8a of the coaxial cable, as shown in the example of FIG. 8. have. Each of the microstrip sections is near the edge of the top surface, and under some circumstances the edge will provide an improved connection to the conductor layer of the antenna as compared to the microstrip array 36 in the middle. Rather than double microstrips 37a and 37b, it is possible to provide only one microstrip 37a or 37b arranged near the edge of the surface 34.

9A-9F show cross-sectional views of various alternative shapes of main body portion 32. In FIG. 9A, the corners of the top surface 34 are rounded off. 9B-9D the upper surface 34 and / or lower surface 33 are curved, and in FIG. 9F the upper surface is divided into two planar surfaces. These different shapes provide a better contact with the conductive layer of the antenna between the conductive surface regions of the body portion 32 and / or are more easily received by the antenna portion 32 of the first embodiment. It may be more desirable for the cuboid shape of ().                 

The device described in any of the above paragraphs can be modified to perform additional matching functions by including capacitors and other electronic elements. For example, for an antenna disclosed in British Patent Application No. 9927842.6 (already referred to), published as WO-A-01 / 39326, a wide patch for suppressing losses due to ohmic resistance of the patch ( The use of a wide patch results in a patch that indicates an inductance excess at the resistance peak corresponding to quarter wavelength resonance. One method for suppressing this inductance is to dissipate the inductance by using a capacitor with a reactance that is equal in magnitude to the inductance at resonance and whose sign is opposite. For the purposes of the present invention, the capacitors are mounted in series, ie across breaks of the conductive lines 36. Alternatively in parallel, that is, one end of the capacitor is connected to the conductive line 36 and the other end is connected to the conductive pad, which in turn is connected to the conductor surface 35 via this conductive pad, Can be mounted. These methods of mounting and connecting components are well known in printed circuit board manufacturing. Because of their small size and ease of mounting, surface mount devices are the preferred types of components for these applications.

Those skilled in the art of radio frequency matching filters will appreciate that the techniques described in the examples above can be extended to cover other surface mount components such as inductors. Furthermore, they are mounted on a conductive track on the upper surface of the present invention (ie in substantially the same plane as the conductive line 36), and via them a plurality of such components connected to the conductor surface 35. Can be included to form a multi-stage matching filter.

In order to avoid undesirable electrical effects, in particular shorting across the components and the conducting track, the matching filter described above should be placed in a portion of the invention that is not inserted under the conducting layer 16 of the antenna. Alternatively, the matching filters can be protected from the influence of conductive layer 16 by placing an insulating layer over the matching filter structure.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to the use of a patch antenna in the form of a planar inverted F antenna, it is also suitable for the use of other types of antennas, such as half wave patch antennas. Indeed, if the components other than the antenna are lamina structures, the device of the present invention can be used with such components.

By reading the present disclosure, other variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications may include design, manufacturing, and other features already known in the field of using components of the lamina structure, including antennas (fabric or otherwise) and their applications, in addition to the features already described herein. And other features that may be used in place of or in place of.

The present invention can be used in related industries to provide an electrical connection between the electrical conductors of cables and the spaced apart layers of electrical conductors of components (especially patch antennas).

Claims (13)

Providing an electrical connection between the first and second electrically conductive spaced layer portions included in the patch antenna and the electrical conductor included in the cable, wherein the patch antenna is spaced apart from the first and second electrical conductivity. An electrical connector device, further comprising a layer of electrically insulating material between the layered layers, Main body component having two or more electrically conductive surface areas, each of which is suitable for establishing cable conductor connection means for establishing an electrical connection with the cable's electrical conductor. A main body portion, electrically connected with the The main body portion is partially or wholly inserted between the first and second electrically conductive spaced layers of a patch antenna, each of the electrically conductive surface regions of the main body portion being spaced apart from the first and second electrically conductive spaces. Configured to provide electrical coupling with one of the layers, Electrical connector devices. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main body portion comprises a lower surface and an upper surface, each having at least one of two electrically conductive surface regions, wherein the main body portion comprises first and first portions of a patch antenna. When inserted between two electrically conductive spaced layers, the electrically conductive surface area of the bottom surface is electrically coupled to one of the first and second electrically conductive layers, and electrically connected to the top surface. And the surface area being conductive is electrically coupled to the other of the first and second conductive layers. 3. The surface of claim 2, wherein one of the top and bottom surfaces is generally completely covered by one of the electrically conductive surface regions to form a ground plane and the other of the top and bottom surfaces is microstrip. An electrical connector device partially covered by another one of the electrically conductive surface regions arranged in lines to form a microstrip line. 4. The electrical connector device of claim 3, wherein the main body portion, ground plane, and microstrip line collectively provide a device microstrip section. The transition section according to claim 1, wherein the cable conductor connection means has a link extending from one of the at least two electrically conductive surface regions to the cable conductor. Comprising an electrical connector device. 6. The electrical connector device of claim 5, wherein the cable conductor connection means comprises a cable clamp. The electrical connector device of claim 1 wherein the main body portion is a dielectric material. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main body portion is a parallelepiped shape having two major surfaces, wherein the two major surfaces are two electrically conductive surface regions. An electrical connector device, each comprising one. 5. The electrical connector device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the two electrically conductive surface regions is provided on a curved surface of the main body portion. 6. 5. The electrical connector device according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is penetrable by a sewing needle. 6. The electrical connector device according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is made of a material that is elastically deformable. The electrical connector device of claim 1, further comprising an electronic component such as a capacitor. A patch antenna comprising the electrical connector device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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